The Daily Audio Bible
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God’s Promises to Zion
8 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, and I am zealous for her with great wrath.(A) 3 Thus says the Lord: I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts shall be called the holy mountain.(B) 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age.(C) 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.(D) 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the Lord of hosts?(E) 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,(F) 8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”(G)
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong—you who have recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of hosts.(H) 10 For before those days there were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against one another.(I) 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.(J) 13 Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”(K)
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: Just as I purposed to bring disaster upon you when your ancestors provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts,(L) 15 so again I have purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; do not be afraid. 16 These are the things that you shall do: speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace,(M) 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.”(N)
Joyful Fasting
18 The word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; therefore love truth and peace.”(O)
Many Peoples Drawn to Jerusalem
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, the inhabitants of many cities; 21 the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’(P) 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.(Q) 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew, grasping his garment and saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”(R)
The Bowls of God’s Wrath
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”(A)
2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and a foul and painful sore came on those who had the brand of the beast and who worshiped its image.(B)
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.(C)
4 The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.(D) 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say,
“You are just, O Holy One, who are and were,
for you have judged these things;(E)
6 because they shed the blood of saints and prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar respond,
“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
your judgments are true and just!”(F)
8 The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire; 9 they were scorched by the fierce heat, but they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.(G)
10 The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony(H) 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.
12 The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great River Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east.(I) 13 And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet.(J) 14 These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.(K) 15 (“See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed,[a] not going about naked and exposed to shame.”)(L) 16 And the demonic spirits[b] assembled the kings[c] at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.
17 The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake.(M) 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine cup of the fury of his wrath.(N) 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found, 21 and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[d] dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.(O)
Psalm 144
Prayer for National Deliverance and Security
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle,(A)
2 my rock[a] and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples[b] under me.(B)
3 O Lord, what are humans that you regard them,
or mortals that you think of them?(C)
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.(D)
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains so that they smoke.(E)
6 Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.(F)
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of foreigners,(G)
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hands are false.(H)
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,(I)
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.(J)
11 Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.(K)
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars,
cut for the building of a palace.(L)
13 May our barns be filled
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14 and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls,[c] no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
15 Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(M)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.